Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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97. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the progress in supporting the development of broadband connection points and the development of digital hubs in south-western areas of County Cork. [38171/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Broadband Connection Point (BCP) initiative is a key part of the National Broadband Plan and Our Rural Future. It is now in the latter stages of delivery and as of 6 July, 203 BCPs are live and in use, with the remaining sites in the process of being surveyed, installed or tested.

To date, 16 BCPs have been delivered in County Cork with a further 8 sites to be delivered over the coming weeks and months.

On 31 May, I launched the National Hub Network, connectedhubs.ie. Since the launch, 113 hubs have signed on and are now using the platform, with an additional 49 hubs in the process of being onboarded. Furthermore, the number of hubs identified through the Western Development Commission's hub discovery process has increased to 505. These are in the process of being verified before they are mapped online at www.connectedhubs.ie.

This website provides an interactive map of hubs which provides useful information in relation to each of the hubs and the services that are available at each site. At present, there are approximately 20 hubs registered on the platform in County Cork, with more likely to be added in the future.

Since 2016 my Department has invested more than €50 million in the development of remote working facilities through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. I have also allocated €5 million to fund a Connected Hubs Call this year. This initiative will provide funding to support small scale capital works in existing hubs and Broadband Connection Points. Applications are currently being evaluated by my officials and I expect to shortly be in a position to announce the results of the evaluation process.